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He's scoring at .67 ppg despite a pretty big slump (as you point out). He's gone through those before. Nothing about his play this year led me to believe that he wouldn't end with right around 55 pts. Which is usual for him. I dont' see some big, qualitative difference in his play. He was doing what he does every year. I agree, lots of people factor into games even when they don't score. Those guys are better than Franzen. And it's because of those guys that he's no longer necessary. But he is what he's always been. The only difference between then and now is that we no longer rely on him as much. But quite a lot of people here have said, or implied, that his performance is worse this year than in years past. I just don't see it. If Nyquist and Tatar (and Abby to a lesser extent) hadn't emerged into go-to guys, Franzen would have been glued to Zetterberg or Datsyuk's wing like he always is, and his PPG probably wouldn't even have dipped at all.

Myth 1: Franzen is less productive now than he has ever been. Wrong. His points per game are right around his career average. Myth 2: Franzen is streakier, and disappears more than in the past. Wrong. He's played 33 games. He's got a point in 18 of them. 14 single point games and 4 multi point games. Again, right in line with his career trends. I don't care if he's on the team or not. We can clearly win without him, which is reason enough to want him gone. But can we stop making up crap to make him seem worse than he is? It's the same old Mule, much to the chagrin (or consternation) of the fans.

From Tsn website : video about 2.5 minutes long and about 1 minute ads Mike Babcock discusses mental illness from his home during the All Star break http://www.tsn.ca/video/bell-let-s-talk-babcock-joins-the-fight-1.193239

Seriously. It doesn't even register that he's missing. I'm not trying to be an over the top ass in saying that. I mean that in the most general way possible. It doesn't even occur to me that he's missing watching the games lately. Barely make the playoffs? We weren't expected to make the playoffs by most if my memory serves me correctly. But to be fair, we are operating in best case scenario mode right now when it comes to how our young guys are playing. It easily could've gone the other way, and even in the coming years, some of the guys that look like studs now could drop off fast. It's really tough to tell with young players adjusting to the NHL. But thus far, it's been golden, and they're giving us reason to believe they're the real deal and won't drop off, so I'm pretty ******* excited about this team. I don't disagree, but good teams find ways to win even when they aren't firing on all cylinders. That's what I like most about this team this year. Last year we found ways to lose games like the last few all the time. It was terrible and that's why we barely made the playoffs. The team this year has not always looked stellar, but again, they're still finding ways to win games, and that's the mark of a good team.

I have a feeling that moving Nyquist or Tatar, unless we absolutely fleeced the other GM, would come back to bite the Wings in a big way.

Scoring goals is never redundant.

Thing I've found about Franzen is that he played really well the first 10 games or so. He looked re-energised, was properly engaged for most of the game. And then he just got streaky again. Which is fine, it's what we've come to know and expect. But concussions mount up. I'm not saying he's dropped off like some are, but head injury after head injury sure makes a difference, and the last couple of times he's been levelled to which you would have thought most players would get up fine from, he's got up really slowly. I agree with you though Kip, he's expendable not because his play has declined, but because he's been surpassed by others who work harder. If he retires early, the wings are subject to the cap recapture penalty right?

Okay I can see that - Maybe the "Franzen has regressed" narrative is overblown. I did seen in places people say that "injuries have caught up on him and he's done." I definitely don't buy that. But looking at goals, he is set for the lowest goals per game since his second year. You're right, though, It wouldn't be a huge drop off and he has been playing with lesser line-mates often this season so you could credit it to that. I do think, if the season was over today, it would be looked at as a down year for him. I hope he goes back to the way he looked in the first 10 games. My thinking for using +/- is because -12 is a large enough number that I thought it to be significant. If one player contradicts the trending stats of the whole team dramatically (and doesn't play on the PK) then I do think it shows something. The only other regulars with a minus are Nyquist (-2) and Miller (-1). Thinking about it now, though, you could partly explain Franzen's -12 by the fact that he's been with lesser line-mates. Also, comparing his stats to the team's now does skew the picture since the team has been winning since he's been out - I'd have to look at the stats when he went down to be fair.

He also costs 6 million, and isn't at a position of huge need right now. Plus it would take more than Larkin stright up to get him. You'd be paying a hefty price for a guy that isn't having a much better offensive year than Darren Helm, that we probably couldn't afford to resign (6 million qualifying offer and he's been a pain in negotiations so far in his career), and that doesn't really pull us any closer to being a cup contender. I'd move Larkin for a defenseman version of O'Reilly, but not O'Reilly. He just doesn't really provide anything we don't already have a enough of. He doesn't fill a huge need. And we'd have to give up a lot of assests for him.

YA man winter is awesome i built an ice rink in the back lawn for me and my little brother and thats all we do all winter. Built the whole thing in a flannel too haha;)

Like who? Just for my own understanding of your position. I mean, I don't think you're saying that those guys should be traded for a tin of beans. But what kind of player are you talking about here? O'Reilly? Yandle?

Wow. Trolled by his own team. That's really bad. Do they not have proofreaders for these? I'm not a fan of the whole "Sindy" thing, but I bet someone could sell this on eBay for a really good profit.

I did. Read my post back in October. I just hope we don't get stuck against Boston in the first round. Don't like that matchup, even if they have struggled this year.

What are our chances at McDavid? I think we still have a shot.

TANK IT

I watch all the games. Typically, after a win, I’m happy. Regardless. I figured after the break that tonight’s game would resemble a game of pond hockey, and it did. What I take away is that they played well and got clutch goaltending late in the game, when it mattered. I was way more upset about blowing the lead last Tuesday. That leaves four other games in this 6 game stretch, in which they held two good teams to 2 goals per, Buffalo to one, and had crappy 1st period against Buffalo in another. Don’t worry, they’ll soon be losing games 2-1 in California. I’m happy to see them rack up the points now. He was great late in the game tonight. Because he’s clutch.

Larkin has just scored17 points in the last 7 Michigan games. He is only 18, not saying he is going to be a scoring machine, but with a scoring machine like Mantha (projected) on his wing, he could be a setup machine... Yzerman/Fedorov - Dastyuk/Zetterberg- Larkin/Mantha. Yes, I went there. No way can EITHER of these two be traded. I would HATE to have to make a choice like that, one or the other....UGH!

Nice gdt. Let's go wings.

Great job on the GDT. Hopefully Monocle Man will return for this one I believe the upcoming game vs NYI is 12/19 rather than 12/16.

Great GDT ! I think Weiss will be in tonight. Why get him rolling in GR and then stop him the next game he could play for the Wings ?

Nice work on the GDT Now let’s play some hockey during this game.

Cool GDT idea

Bad ass. Let's go wings.

Let's Go Red Wings! :clap: :clap: